My Heart Skips A Beat
by ilivetosing
Summary: Lara Snape never knew anything about her past. Her parents got into a car crash with some friends, her dad disappeared after it. She was left with Harry Potter and his family. she knew she was abnormal, but didn't know how bad. She and Harry both have the scar that marked their past. *Bad summary, please read* Fred/OC.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

A blinding green light. That's all Lara Snape and Harry Potter saw every time they closed their eyes. They were put on the Dursley's doorsteps when they were only a year old. Lara never ever went outside, they wouldn't let her. They always told her it was for her own good, then, they would lock her in the cupboard under the stairs that she shared with Harry. The only time she went outside was for school. When they would lock her in there, she always thought it was her fault, but Harry would comfort her, telling her it was where they were from. They never knew, all they knew was their parents got into a car crash and that's how they got their lighting scars.

One full moon night, while asleep in the cupboard, Lara was awoken by the sound of a distant howl. She had a sudden urge to go outside, but of course the door was locked. So, she went back to bed.

On Dudley's birthday, she and Harry were supposed to go to Mrs. Figg's, but she broke her leg.

"B-but Mummy! I don't want them to go to the zoo with me!" Dudley whined to his mother. She called up everyone she knew, but they wouldn't take Lara and Harry. They both looked at each other and a flash of excitement flashed across their eyes. They were finally going somewhere.

Soon they were in Mr. Dursley's car. Before they got to the zoo, he had pulled them aside, "I don't want any funny business from you two," He told them. Mr. Dursley was a fat man with no neck and he had a very large mustache. They nodded and piled into the car.

Lara's blue eyes took in every tree, bush, sidewalk, and even the STOP signs. When they reached the zoo. Harry brought up his dream about a flying motorcycle. Mr. Dursley got really upset at Harry. He yelled at him, telling him motorcycles don't fly. Harry then told him it was only a dream. Lara kept quiet about her dream. She dreamt that she was a large wolf, (Imagine Jacob from Twilight, that big.) running across an open field.

They got out of the car and walked to the entrance. They bought Dudley a very large ice cream. They had to buy Harry and Lara something because the parlor man asked if they wanted anything. They continued walking, they passed many animals. But one animal caught Lara's eye. It was a big gray wolf. It looked her in the eye and it seemed to say I know what you are. She pointed to herself and it nodded. They continued to talk by eye contact. She told her name was Sabrina and she was captured from Russia. Lara felt a strong connection with her, but Harry came up behind her.

"Lara, come on, we're going to the reptile house," He pulled her arm.

She said good-bye to Sabrina and she said good-bye to her, then she followed Harry to the reptile house.

"Were you talking to that wolf?" He asked her while they were behind the Dursleys.

"Yeah, I felt as if I knew her from somewhere," She told him.

When they entered the reptile room, Dudley went straight to a giant python. Her tapped on the glass, "It won't move!" He told his father.

Mr. Dursley knocked on the window. It still didn't move. "Come on, son," He lead his son over to a very large green lizard. Harry and Lara walked up to the python's habitat. When they approached, its head lifted up.

Harry started talking to it. "Brazil? Must have been nice there?" it motioned its head towards the plaque. "Oh, breed in captivity,"

"IT'S MOVING!" Dudley came waddling over to the glass. Lara and Harry backed off. Dudley pressed his face against the glass. Just then, the glass disappeared. He almost fell, if it wasn't for his father, who caught him. The python slithered out and Harry and Lara swore they heard it say, Brazil, here I come!

They were quickly rushed out of the building and into the car. They rode home in silence. When they reached home, Harry and Lara were yelled at by Mr. Dursley, then pushed into the cupboard.

They say on the bed and talked about what they did. "How did you communicate with that python?" Lara asked him. They were playing with some of the spiders that also lived there.

"Similar to the way you talked to that wolf," He looked down.

"Something good will happen. Maybe on our birthday," She and Harry were both born on the same day, just a couple of seconds apart.

"Hope so," He mumbled. They continued to play, then it was time for bed. Lara took her place on the floor.

She looked up at Harry, "'Night. Harry,"

"Good1night, Lara," He said and turned his back to her. She turned her back to him and sighed. Hopefully, something or someone will save them.

A month passed and it was almost time for school. Dudley was going to Smeltings and Harry and Lara weren't going to separated. Dudley got a stick for Smeltings and hit Lara and Harry with it.

One sunny morning, at the breakfast, they heard the mail flap open and close.

Mr. Dursley was reading the morning paper. "Dudley, go get the mail,"

He groaned, "Make Lara get it,"

"Lara, go get it,"

She got up and walked to the front door and picked up the mail. She looked through it and saw two letters that caught her eye. They were addressed to her and Harry. She walked back to the dining room and handed the rest of the mail to Mr. Dursley. She sat next to Harry and handed him his letter, she couldn't take her eyes off her letter.

"Daddy, Harry and Lara have a letter!" Dudley whined.

"What!?" Mr. Dursley jumped up and snatched Harry and Lara's letter.

"Give us are letters back!" They said at the same time.

Mr. Dursley didn't, instead he tore them in half and threw them away. "Go to your cuboard! Dudley go to your room!" He boomed at them.

Lara and Harry left quickly before Dudley could throw a fit. Once they reached the cuboard, they sat on Harry's bed and looked up at the ceiling. They could see it moving, marking that Dudley was going to his room. Lara and Harry took one look at each other and opened the door. They went over to the closed kitchen door. Harry and Lara looked through the bottom.

Mr. Dursley was pacing, "I will not have two of them in this house, Petunia! Especially, the girl, she's even more messed up than him!"

Lara looked at Harry and exchanged a worried look. He mouthed that it was "Going to be ok," She nodded and hopped he was right. They listened some more.

"They're not going to stop," Petunia said while cleaning the dishes.

Mr. Dursley walked away muttering, "They will,"

Harry and Lara got up as fast as they could and went back to their cupboard.

"What do you think they meant by 'They"?" Lara asked Harry.

He shrugged, "I'm not sure. Maybe somebody is going to take us away from this place,"

"Hope so. Did you hear them talking about me?" She asked.

"Yeah, wonder what that was about," He said, looking up at the ceiling, as if it held the answer.

* * *

That evening, during dinner, Harry and Lara asked what the letters were for.

"Where are our letters? Who was writing to us?" Harry pursued.

Nobody. It was a mistake," Mr. Dursley told them.

"It was not a mistake, it had our cupboard on it!" Lara shot back.

"SILENCE!" Everybody became quiet. Mr. Dursley's face was as red as tomato. Probably because yelling was too much for him. He coughed, "Now then, about the cupboard, me and Petunia were thinking, you tow are getting to big for it. So, we think it would be nice for you two to move into Dudley's second bedroom,"

"Why?" Harry and Lara said simultaneously.

"Don't ask questions!" He yelled at him. One thing you learn with the Dursleys, is not to ask questions. "Now, take your stuff up stairs,"

She and Harry quickly got up from the table and practically ran to the cupboard. It only took one trip each to get what little they had. They looked around the room and saw all the old toys that Dudley used to play with. A month old video camera that was now broken. One of Dudley's first television sets, which he put his foot through after his favorite TV show got cancelled.

Downstairs, they could hear Dudley fake crying. "B-b-but I-I-I d-d-on't w-want t-them in t-there," He blubbered.

They sighed and stretched out on the bed. "Maybe things are starting to turn for the better," Lara thought aloud.

"Yeah," Harry breathed. They looked at the ceiling for seemed like hours, then Lara got off the bed and made hers on the floor, "'Night, Lara,"

"Good-night, Harry," She lied her head on her pillow. She looked out the window. The moon was at a cresent, not at full moon. She sighed and knew her dream wasn't true, but yet, a tugging in her gut told her that she and Harry were apart of something that they don't even know.

* * *

The next morning, everyone was extremely quiet. This worried Lara, something was going to happen. Dudley had done some horrible things to his parents. He hit his father with his Smeltings stick, he had been sick on purpose, kicked his own mother, and threw his turtle through the greenhouse roof. But still didn't have his room back.

When the mail arrived, Mr. Dursley, who had been trying to be nice to Harry and Lara, made Dudley get it. They heard him banging things with his stick, when he had reached the hallway, he yelled, "There's more! 'For Mr. H. Potter and Ms. L. Snape, The Smallest Bedroom, 4 Privet Drive-"

With an angry cry, Mr. Dursley jumped out of his seat and tried to run to the hallway,( He wasn't very fast.) harry and Lara right behind him. He had to pin his own son to the ground to get the letters, which was made so difficult by the fact that Harry had grabbed him around the neck and Lara had made a dive for Dudley. After a minute or so of confused fighting, in which they got hit by Dudley's stick a lot, Mr. Dursley had successfully grabbed the letters. He straightened up and gasped for breath.

"You two- go to your cupboard- I meant your bedroom," He turned to his son. "Dudley- leave- just leave,"

Lara and Harry walked to their room and paced the perimeter. Someone obviously knew that they had moved out of their cupboard and they seemed to notice that they had not gotten their first letter. Wouldn't that mean they'd try again, right? Lara exchanged a look with Harry, he nodded. Whoever was writing to them, this time they'd make sure they did not fail, they had a plan.

* * *

The alarm clock that Lara had repaired rang at 6 o'clock, that following morning. Lara quickly jumped up and shut it off. She and Harry quickly dressed. They can not wake the Dursleys, for what they were going to do. They walked down the stairs, without making a noise or turning on any lights. They were almost to the hallway, when Lara grabbed his arm. He turned around, "What?"

She sniffed, "Smell that?" She thought that this was most unusual. She had never had this ability before.

"What smell? I think you're going bonkers," They started towards the door. They walked across the hallway, almost to the door.

'AAARRRGGGH!"

Lara yelped. She knew that she had smelt something familiar. Harry had stepped on something living! Lights went on from the upstairs, and to Harry's surprise, he had stepped on his Uncle's face.

Lara put her hands on her hips, "I told you!"

Apparently, Mr. Dursley had camped out in front of the door to stop Harry and Lara from doing what they were trying to do. After yelling at them, for whjat seemed lik a half an hour, he told them to go make him some tea. They walked solemnly off into the kitchen and by the time Lara had brought Mr. Dursley his tea, the mail had arrived, right into his lap. She could see six letters addressed to her and Harry in green ink.

"Why can't-" She never finished because he was tearing them up in front of her eyes.

Mr. Dursley did not go to work that day. Instead, he stayed home to nail the mail slot shut with some wood.

"They'll give up, see," He had told Petunia. "If they can't get in, they can't deliver,"

"I don't think that'll work, Vernon," She shook her head.

"These people's heads work in different ways, sweetheart, not like you and me," He started putting a nail in with a piece a fruitcake that she had given him to eat.

* * *

On Friday, 12 letters had arrived for Harry and Lara, each. They couldn't go through the mail slot, so they had been pushed under the door, slotted through the sides, and some even forced through a small window in the downstairs bathroom. Harry and Lara could not believe their eyes. Somebody must really want them to read the letters!

Mr. Dursley stayed home, yet again. After burning all twenty-four letters, got out his hammer and nails to board up the cracks around the front door and back doors so nobody could go out.

* * *

On Saturday, things started to get a bit out of control. 24 letters for each of them fond their way inside, rolled up and hidden inside each of the two dozen eggs that their very confused milkman had handed Petunia through the living room window. While Mr. Dursley made very angry telephone calls to the post office and the dairy trying to find someone to complain to, Petunia shredded the letters in her food processor.

"Who on this Earth wants to talk to you two this badly?" Dudley asked Harry and Lara with amusement. They shrugged.

On that Sunday morning, Mr. Dursley sat down at the breakfast looking extremely tired and rather sick, but had a smile on his face.

"No post on Sundays," He reminded everybody cheerfully as he spread marmalade on his newspapers, "No damn letters today-"

Something came flying down the kitchen chimney as he spoke and caught him sharply on the back of his head. Next moment, almost thirty or forty letters came pelting out of the fireplace, just like bullets. The Dursleys ducked, but Harry and Lara jumped into trying to catch them-

"Out! OUT!"

He grabbed Lara and Harry by the waist and threw them into the hallway. Petunia and Dudley had to run out with their faces covered, he slammed the door shut. They could hear letters still coming down into the room, bouncing off of everything.

"That does it," He said, trying to speak normally but pulling great tufts out of his mustache at the same time. "I want you all back down here in 5 minutes, ready to leave. We're going away. Just pack some clothes. No arguments!"

He looked like he could kill Harry and Lara with half his mustache missing, that no one dared argue. Lara and Harry bounded up the stairs and quickly grabbed some clothes. Ten minutes later they pushed their way through the boarded up door and were in the car, speeding towards the interstate. Dudley was whining in the back seat , his father hit him round the head for holding them up while he tried to pack his computer, television, and VCR in his duffle bag.

And they drove. And drove. Even Petunia did not dare ask her husband where they were going. Every once and a while, Mr. Dursley would take a hard turn and drive in the other direction for a bit.

"Shake 'em off….. shake 'em off," He kept muttering when he would turn.

They never stopped to drink or eat at all that day. By nighttime, Dudley was howling. He'd never had such a horrible day in his life. He was starving, he'd missed five television shows he'd wanted to see, and he'd never, ever gone this long without blowing up aliens on his computer.

Mr. Dursley finally stopped outside a dark-looking motel on the outskirts of a pretty big city. Dudley, Harry, and Lara, all shared a room., with twin beds. Lara took the floor, like always. Dudley snored and Lara and Harry stayed up to talk.

"Who do you think wants to talk to us?" Harry asked her.

She stared up at the ceiling, then, looked at him, "Maybe it's my father. They never told me what happened to him, all they said was that he disappeared after the, so called 'crash,'" She used air quotations for 'crash.'

"Maybe, but why now?" He arched his eyebrows.

"I don't know, maybe he thought it was time," She rolled her eyes.

He shrugged and turned over, "Good-night, Lara,"

"'Night," She closed her eyes.

* * *

For breakfast the next morning, they ate stale cornflakes and cold tinned tomatoes on toast. They had just finished their breakfast when the owner of the motel came over to their table.

"'Scuse me, but is one of Mr. H. Potter and Ms. L. Snape? Only have about an 'undred of these for each of them at the front desk."

She held up both letters so they could read the green inked address,

_Ms. L. Snape_

_Room 17_

_Railview Motel_

_Cokeworth_

Her and Harry made a grab for the letters, but Mr. Dursley made it there first. The woman stared at the odd family.

"I'll take 'em," He told the owner, standing up quickly and followed her from the dining room to the front desk.

* * *

"Wouldn't it be better if we just go home?" Petunia asked timidly, hours later, but did not seem to notice her. What he was looking for, nobody knew. He drove them into the middle of the woods, got out, looked around, shook his head, got back into the car, and drove off again. The same thing happened in the middle of a plowed field, halfway across a bridge, and at the top of a parking garage.

"Daddy's gone mad, hasn't he?" Dudley asked his mother late that afternoon. Mr. Dursley had parked the car at the coast, locked them all inside, and disappeared into the fog.

It started to rain. Drops hit the roof of the car. Dudley sniveled.

"It's Monday," He said. "The Great Humberto's on tonight. I want to stay somewhere with a tele."

"Leave it to Dudley to know what day it is," Lara whispered to Harry. He smirked. Then it reminded her of something. If it was truly Monday, tomorrow would be Tuesday, her and Harry's eleventh birthday. She poked Harry, "You know what's tomorrow?"

He nodded. The never got proper year, Dudley gave them a coat hanger and a pair of Mr. Dursley's socks. But, you weren't eleven everyday.

Mr. Dursley was back and smiling like a lunitic. He was also carrying a long, thin parcel and didn't answer Petunia when she asked what he had.

"I've found the perfect place!" He said happily. "Come on! Everyone out! Petunia, cover her face up and lead her this way!"

He threw her his jacket and Petunia put it over Lara's head. Lara did not ask questions, but she did wonder why she had to walk like this. She couldn't see anything, but she knew the got into a boat.

"I've got some rations!" Mr. Dursley yelled.

It was freezing in the boat. Icy cold water sprayed and rain ran down their necks and a chilly wind hit their faces. After what seemed like forever, they reached land. Mr. Dursley had Petunia get out first with Lara. They entered a small shack and she took the jacket off of Lara's head.

There were only two bedrooms. The fireplace was damp and empty. Mr. Dursley rations turned out to be a bag of chips for everyone and four bananas. He tried to start a fire in the fireplace with the empty chip bags, but they would just smoke and shivel up.

"Could go for some of those letters now?" He said cheerfully.

He was in a very cheery mood. Obviously he thought nobody could get to them here in the middle of a storm to deliver mail. Lara privately agreed, it was freezing.

As nighttime rolled around, the promised storm blew up around the shack. Spray from high waves splattered the walls of the shack. A fierce wind rattled the dirty windows. Petunia found a few moldy blankets in the second bedroom and made a bed for Dudley on the moth eaten sofa. She and Mr. Dursley went off to the bumpy bed next door. Harry and Lara were left to find the softest part of the floor they could find. They curled up under the thinnest, most ragged blanket there was.

The storm raged on and on ferociously as the night went on. Lara shivered and turned over, trying to find a comfortable spot, their stomachs rumbled with hunger. The lighted dial of Dudley's watch, which dangled off the edge of the sofa on his chubby wrist, told them that they'd be 11 in ten minutes.

Lara nudged Harry. "Ten minutes, Harry, ten minutes,"

"And, then, we're eleven," He mumbled.

They sat up and watched their birthday time tick nearer and nearer. Five minutes to go. Lara heard a creak from outside. She hoped it was a mail person, delivering them their letters. Four minutes to go. Maybe the house on Privet Drive would be full of letters, they could mage to grad one.

Three minutes to go. Was that the sea, slapping hard on the rock like that? And (Two minutes to go.) what was that funny crunching noise? Was somebody else here?

One minute to go and they'd be eleven. Lara grabbed Harry's hand. Thirty seconds for Harry and twenty-nine for Lara. Nineteen….. nine….. –maybe they should wake Dudley up- three… two… one..

BOOM.

The whole shack shivere. Lara gave Harry a scared look. They stared at the door. Someone was outside, knocking to come in.

* * *

A/N: I do not own Harry Potter, only my OC. I tried to get it as close as I could to the book, so hopefully it's close enough. Like another one of my stories; this was not the original idea, but it's so much better. Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

BOOM. They knocked gain. Dudley jerked awake.

"Where's the cannon?" He said dumbly.

There was a crash behind them. Mr. Dursley came running into the room. He was holding a rifle in his hands, so that's what was in the parcel.

"Who's there?" he shouted above the storm. "I warn you, I'm armed!"

Lara danced around, flapping her arms, "Ooooh, I'm an idiot with a gun."

Mr. Dursley glared at her. There was a long pause, then-

SMASH!

The door was hit with such a force, that it swung clean off its hinges and with a deafening crash, landed flat on the floor.

A giant of a man stood in the doorframe. His face was almost completely hidden by a long, shaggy mane of hair and a wild, tangled beard, but you could see his eyes, shining like black beetles under all the hair.

The giant squeezed through the small doorframe, stooping so that his head brushed the ceiling. He bent down, picked up the door, and fitted it easily back into its frame. The noise of the storm outside seemed to drop a little. The giant faced them all.

"Couldn't make us a cup o' tea, could yeh? It's not been an easy journey…."

He strode over to the couch, where Dudley sat, frozen with fear.

"Budge up, yeh great lump," Said the stranger.

Dudley yelped and ran to hide behind his mother, who was crouching, terrified, behind Mr. Dursley.

"An' here's Harry and Lara!" Said the great big man.

Lara looked up into the fierce, wild, shadowy face and saw that his eyes were crinkled in a smile.

"Las' time I saw yeh two, yehs was only babies," Said the giant. "Yehs look a lot like your dads, except, yeh've got your mums eyes."

Mr. Dursley made a funny rasping noise.

"I demand that you leave at once, sir!" He said. "You are breaking and entering!"

"Ah, shut up, Dursley, yeh great prune," Said the big man. He reached over the back of the couch, pulled the rifle out of Mr. Dursley hands, bent it into a knot as easily as if it had been made of rubber, and threw it into the corner.

Mr. Dursley made another funny rasping noise, like a mouse being trodden on.

"Anyway- Harry, Lara," Said the giant, turning his back to the Dursleys, "a very happy birthday to yeh two. Got summat fer yehs here- I mighta sat on it t some point, but it'll taste all right."

From inside his long, black coat, he pulled out a slightly squashed box. Lara took the box and handed it to Harry. With trembling fingers, he opened it, with Lara peering over his shoulder. Inside was a large, sticky chocolate cake with _Happy Birthday Harry And Lara_ written on it with green icing.

They looked up at the giant. They meant to say their thank yous, but the words got lost on the way out of their mouths, instead, they said, "Who are you?"

He chuckled, "Just like twins. That's what your parents always thought. I'm Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts."

He held out both of his arms and shook their whole arms.

"What about that tea then, eh?" He said, rubbing his hands together. "I'd not say no ter summat stronger if yeh've got it, mind."

His eyes fell onto the empty crate with the shriveled up chip bags in it and snorted. He bent down over the fireplace, they couldn't see what he was doing, but when he drew back a second later, there was a roaring fire there. It filled the whole damp shack. Lara felt as if a heated blanket had fell over them.

The big man sat back down on the sofa, which sagged under all is weight. Then, began taking all sorts of things out of his pockets; a poker, a copper kettle, a teapot, a bag of fat sausages, several chipped mugs, and some kind of amber liquid that he took a drink out of before starting to make the tea. Soon, the shack was full of the sound and smell of sizzling sausage. Nobody said a single word while the giant man was working, but as he slid six fat, slightly burnt sausages from the poker, Lara saw Dudley flinch a little out of the corner of her eye. Mr. Dursley barked, "Don't touch anything he gives you, Dudley."

The giant chuckled evilly.

"Yer great puddin' of a son don' need fattebin' anymore, Dursley, don' yeh worry."

He passed three sausages to Harry, then, the last three went to Lara. They were as hungry as hungry can be, so the sausages the sausages tasted so good. Finally, since nobody seemed to want to explain anything, Lara spoke up, "Honestly, we really don't know who you are."

The giant took a big gulp of his tea and wiped his mouth on his oat sleeve.

"Call me Hagrid," He told them, "everybody does. An' like I told yehs before, I'm Keeper of Keys at Hogwarts, yeh'll know all about Hogwarts, o' course."

"Ummm, no," They said together.

Hagrid looked mortified.

"Sorry," They said as quickly as they could.

"_Sorry?_" Barked Hagrid, turning to glare at the Dursleys, who shrank even farther into the dark corner, "It's them who should be sorry! I knew yehs weren't gettin' yer letters, but I never thought yeh wouldn't even know abou' Hogwarts, fer cryin' out loud! Did yeh never wonder where yer parents learned it all?"

"All what?" They said.

"ALL WHAT?" Hagrid boomed louder than thunder. "Now wait jus' one second!" He had jumped to his feet. In his anger, he seemed to grow, filling up the whole shack. The Dursleys were still cowering in the corner.

"Do you mean ter tell me," He barked at the Dursleys, "that these children- these children!- knows nothin' abou'- about anything? Especially the girl, doesn't she know anything abou' her history?"

He lumbered over to the door and motioned for Lara to follow. Mr. Dursley could tell what Hagrid was doing, "Petunia, cover that girls face!" He ordered his wife, but she wouldn't move, she was so scared, she was petrified. Mr. Dursley grunted and jumped up with his jacket, but it was already too late. Hagrid had already opened the door, revealing the full moon.

Lara looked up at it and thought about the dream she had once had. She felt herself change into a different form. She began to shrink and grow two more legs. She felt herself grow a tail and a snout form where her mouth should be. Within a minute, stood a wolf, the color of storm clouds. Her left ear was bent forward, kind of like a mutt would have. Her eyes were still a piercing blue. She reached up to Hagrid's knees.

He patted her on the head, "Bet that feels a lot better, Lara," He walked back over to the Dursleys, with Lara right beside him. "Keepin' this girl from her true identity is a shame. And once she's seen her first full moon, she can change into this form whenever she wants. O' course, there'll be some changes along the way. Nevermind that-"

Harry finally had time to say something, "We know _some_ things. Like, do math and stuff."

Lara changed back into human form. Amazement was in her eyes. She had never felt so free. It was like having your senses be multiplied. Her sense of smell was extraordinary, she could smell clear the land. Her paws could feel every little vibration in the woodwork.

Hagrid waved his hands, "About _our_ world, I mean._ Your_ world. _My_ world._ Yer parents world._"

Lara stopped, "What world, like, another dimension?"

Hagrid looked as if he was going to explode.

"DURSLEY!" He thundered.

Mr. Dursley, who had gone very pale when he saw Lara in wolf form, whispered something along the lines of, "Mimblewimble." Hagrid stared wildly from Harry to Lara.

"But yeh must know about yer mum and dad," He told them. "I mean, they're _famous._ You're_ famous._"

Lara let out a sigh of relief, "Oh good, it's just him."

"It's you too. Your mum is famous, too," Hagrid said.

"What? My –my mum and dad weren't famous, were they?"

"What about my mum?"

"Yehs don' know… yehs don' know…" Hagrid ran his fingers through his tangled hair, staring at them with astonishment.

"Yehs don' know what yeh _are?_"

Mr. Dursley had seemed to find his voice and his courage.

"Stop it!" He ordered. "Stop right at that, sir! I forbid you to tell these children anymore!"

Hagrid seemed to be at the peek of his anger. He fixed his anger filled eyes on Mr. Dursley. When he spoke, his words were coated with even more anger.

"You never told them? Never told them what was in the letter Dumbledore left for them? I was there! I saw Dumbledore leave them in their blankets! Her father was even there! He was feeling horrible after he left her there! But he couldn't take care of her, so, since his wife was such good friends with the Potters, he thought it would be best for her to stay with Harry! Plus, he didn't want her in any danger! An' you've kept this from them all these years?"

"Kept _what_ from us?" Lara anxiously said.

"STOP! I FORBID YOU!" Screamed Mr. Dursley in frustration.

Petunia let out a gasp of horror.

"Ah, go boil yer heads, the lot of yeh," Hagrid said, more calmly now. "Harry- yer a wizard. Lara- yer a witch an' a wolf."

Lara punched the air. "I knew something wasn't right with me!"

There was a long silence after that. The sea and the whistling of the wind was the only thing that could be heard.

"I'm a what?" Harry gasped.

"A wizard, o' course," Said Hagrid, sitting back down on the sofa, which groaned and sank even lower to the ground, "an' a thumpin' good'un I'd say, once yeh've been trained up a bit."

Lara let out a cough.

"An' yeh, too. Have a pretty dad, great teacher an' all. Can be a real pain sometimes," Hagrid told her. "I reckon it's abou' time yehs read yer letters."

Lara and Harry extended their hands. Lara had longed to know what was in the yellowish envelope, addressed in emerald green to Ms. L. Snape.

She gingerly opened it and took out the parchment it held.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL

_of_ WITCHCRAFT _and_ WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,_

_Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

Dear Ms. Snape,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted

at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please

find enclosed a list of all the necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no

later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall,

_ Deputy Headmistress_

A bunch of questions rumbled in Lara's head. She glanced at Harry and could tell he was having the same thing. After a few minutes of thinking, Lara was relieved that Harry spoke up first, "What does it mean, they await my owl?"

"Gallopin' Gorgons, that reminds me," Said Hagrid, clapping one of his hands on his forehead. From yet, another pocket inside his coat, he pulled out an owl, a real one, and long quill and a roll of parchment. With his tongue between his teeth, he scribbled a note that they could easily read upside down.

_Dear Professor Dumbledore,_

_Given Harry and Lara their letters._

_Taking them to buy their things tomorrow._

_Weather's horrible. Hope you're well._

_Hagrid_

He rolled up the parchment, gave it to the owl, which clamped down on it with its beak, then went to the door and threw the owl out into the storm. He came back and sat down as though this was as normal as talking on the phone.

"Where was I?" Hagrid wondered aloud. But at that exact moment, Mr. Dursley, still ashen-faced, but looking very angry, moved into the firelight.

"They're not going," He growled.

Hagrid grunted.

"I'd like ter see a great Muggle like you stop 'em," He said.

"A what?" Harry and Lara exchanged a look of curiosity.

"A Muggle," Hagrid said, "it's what we call nonmagic folk like them. An' it's your bad luck you grew up in a family o' the biggest Muggles I ever laid my eyes on."

"We swore when we took them in, we'd put a stop to that rubbish," Said Mr. Dursley, "swore we'd stamp it out of them! Wizard and witch and wolf indeed!"

"You _knew?_" They said together again.

"You_ knew_ I was a wizard?"

"You _knew_ I was a witch and a wolf?"

"Knew!" Petunia shrieked. "_Knew!_ Of course we knew! How could you not be, my dratted sister being what she was? Oh, she got a letter, just like that and disappeared off to that- that _school_- and came home every vacation with her pockets full of frog spawn, turning teacups into rats. I was the only one who saw her for what she was- a freak! But for my mother and father, oh no, it was Lily this and Lily that, they were proud of having a witch in the family! And you!" She pointed at Lara. "Your father left you with us because he was a no good criminal! Thought he'd just leave you with us and go back to that freak show! Should've dropped you off at the orphanage when we had the chance, but no, Harry started throwing a fit and we had to replace the furniture!"

She stopped to take a deep breath. It sounded like she had been wanting to let this out all these years.

"And my sister, she met that Potter at school and they left, got married and had you, and of course I knew you'd be just the same, just as strange, just as- as- _abnormal_- and then, if you please, she went and got herself blown up, along with your mother," She pointed to Lara again," and we got landed with you two!"

Harry went very pale and Lara knew that this was a very hard subject to discuss.

"Blown up? You told us they died in a car crash!" Lara yelled.

"CAR CASH?" Hagrid roared, leaping up so angrily that the Dursleys scuttled back to their corner. "How could a car crash kill Lilly Potter, James Potter, an' Jessica Snape? It's an outrage! A scandal! Harry Potter and Lara Snape not knowin' their own story when every kid in our world knows their names!"

"But why? What happened?'" Harry asked quickly. Lara wanted to know too.

All the anger decreased from Hagrid's face. He looked suddenly anxious.

"I never expected this," He said, in a low, worried voice. "I had no idea, when Dumbledore told me there might be trouble getting' hold of yehs, how much yehs didn't know. Ah, I don't know if I'm the right person ter tell yehs- but someone's gotta- yehs can't go off ter Hogwarts not knowin'."

He threw a nasty look at the Dursleys.

"Well, it's best yehs know as much as I can tell yeh- mind, I can't tell yehs everythin', it's a great myst'ry, parts of it…"

He sat down, stared into the fire for a few seconds, and then started to speak, "It begins, I suppose, with- with a person called- but it's incredible yehs don't know his name, everyone in our world knows-"

"Who?"

"Well, I don' like sayin' the name if I can help it. No one does."

"Why not?"

"Gulpin' gargoyles, yeh two, people are still scared. Blimey, this is difficult. See, there was this wizard who went… bad. As bad as you could go. Worse. Worse than worse. His name was….."

"Could you write it down?" Lara asked.

"Nah- can't spell it. Oh, all right-_ Voldemort,_" Hagrid shivered. "Don' make me say it again. Anyway, this- this wizard, about twenty years ago now, started lookin' fer followers. Got 'em, too- some were afraid, some just wanted a bit o' power, 'cause he was gettin' himself power, all right. Dark days, kids. Didn't know who ter trust, didn't dare get friendly with strange wizards or witches… terrible things happened. He was takin' over. 'Course, some stood up to him- an' he killed 'em. Horribly. One o' the only safe place left was Hogwarts. Reckon Dumbledore's the only one You-Know- Who was afraid of. Didn't dare try takin' the school, not jus' then, anyway.

"Now, yer mums an' dad were as good a witches an' wizard as I ever knew. Head boy an' girl, Jessica was a prefect, but didn't get accepted for Head girl because she was a little reckless when she became a wolf, but that decreased over time. Suppose the myst'ry is why You-Know-Who never tried to get 'em on his side before… probably knew they were too close ter Dumbledore ter want anythin' ter do with the Dark Side.

"Maybe he thought he could persuade 'em… maybe he just wanted 'em outta the way. All anyone knows is, he turned up in the village where you were living, on Halloween, ten years ago. Jessica had brought Lara over, so she could play with Harry for a while. Yous was just a year old. He came ter yer house an'- an'-"

Hagrid suddenly pulled out a very filthy, spotted handkerchief and blew his nose with the sound like an elephant.

"Sorry," He said, putting the handkerchief away. "But it's sad- knew yer mums an' dad, an' nicer people yeh couldn't find- anyway…

"You-Know-Who killed 'em. An' then- an' this is the real mst'ry of the thing- he tried to kill you two. Wanted ter make a clean job of it, I suppose, or maybe he just liked killin' by then. But he couldn't do it. Never wonder how yous got that mark on yer forehead? That was no ordinary cut. That's what yeh get when a powerful, evil curse touches yeh- took care of yer mums an' dad, an' yer house, even- but it didn't work on you two, an' that's why yer famous, Harry an' Lara. No one ever lived after he decided ter kill 'em, no one except you two, an' he'd killed some o' the best witches an' wizards of the age- the McKinnons, the Bones, the Prewetts- and yous was the only babies, an' lived."

Lara closed her eyes again and saw the blinding flash of green light. Then, she remembered something that was so distinct, so clear; a high- pitched, cold, evil laugh.

Hagrid gazed at them sadly.

"Took Harry from the ruined house myself. Lara, yer dad brought yeh himself, turned around an' left, not lookin' back. We left yehs with this lot…"

"Load of old rubbish," Mr. Dursley. Lara snickered when she saw Harry jump. Of course she knew that the Dursleys were still there. She could smell them, hear every shaky breath they took. Every little move, she heard.

"Now listen her, children," He spat, "I accept that there's something strange about you, probably nothing a good beating wouldn't have cured- and as for all this about your parents, well, they were weirdos, no denying it, and the world's better off without them in my opinion- asked for all they got, getting mixed up with these wizarding types- just what I expected, always knew they'd come to a sticky end-"

But at that moment, Hagrid jumped to his feet and drew an old, battered pink umbrella from inside his coat, again. Pointing it at Mr. Dursley, like a sword, he said, "I'm warning you, Dursley, I'm warning you- one more word…"

Mr. Dursley lost his courage and flattened himself against the wall, afraid of getting speared.

"That's better," Said Hagrid, gasping heavily and sitting back on the couch, which sagged all the way to the ground.

"But what happened to You-Know-Who?" Lara asked. She really wanted to say his real name because it sounded so weird.

"Good question, Lara. Disappeared. Vanished. Same night he tried to kill you. Makes yehs even more famous. That's the biggest myst'ry… he was gettin' more an' more powerful- why'd he go?

"Some say he died. Codswallop, in my opinion. Dunno if he even had enough human left in him to die. Some say he's still out there, bidin' his, like, but I don' believe it. People who was on his side, came back ter ours. Some of 'em came outta kinda trances. Don' reckon they could've done if he was comin' back.

"Most of us reckon he's still out there somewhere, but lost his powers. Too weak to carry on. 'Cause somethin' about you two," He pointed his fingers at Lara and Harry, "finished him. There was somethin' goin' on that night he hadn't counted on- I dunno what it was, no one does- but somethin' about yous stumped him, all right."

Hagrid looked up and them with warmth and respect. Lara could not believe what she was hearing. A witch? A wolf? No, not her. She had spent her whole life with the Dursleys. But, yet, a tugging in her gut told her otherwise. She had transformed into a wolf, hadn't she? That must be proof that this was all real, not some crazy idea.

"Hagrid," Harry said, "I think you must have made a mistake. I don't think I can be a wizard."

Lara smacked him upside the head, "Seriously? Did you literally just say that? Can't you see, Hagrd's giving us a chance to get the bloody hell out of here!"

"Correct, Lara," Hagrid said. "Yeh'll be famous at Howarts and yeh'll both have loads of friends."

"I told they're not going!" Mr. Dursley found his voice again. "They're going to Stonewall High and they'll be grateful for it. I've read those letters and they need all sorts of rubbish- spell books and wands-"

"If they want ter go, a great Muggle like you won't stop 'em," Hagrid growled. "Stop Lily an' James Potters son goin' ter Hogwarts! Stop Jessica Snapes daughter from goin'! Yer mad. Their name's been down ever since they were born! They're off to the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world. Seven years there and they won't know themselves. They'll be with youngsters of their own sort. An' they'll be under the greatest headmaster Hogwarts ever had, Albus Dumbled-"

"I AM NOT PAYING FOR SOME CRACKPOT OLD FOOL TO TEACH THEM MAGIC TRICKS!" Yelled Mr. Dursley.

He had finally had gone too far. Hagrid grabbed his umbrella and whirled it over his head, "NEVER," He thundered, "INSULT. ALBUS. DUMBLEDORE. IN. FRONT. OF. ME!"

He brought the umbrella down and pointed it at Dudley. There was a violent flash of light and a sound like a firecracker. The next second, Dudley was dancing on the spot with his hands covering his bottom, howling in pain. When he turned his back to the, Lara saw a curly pig's tail sticking through a hole in his trousers. She burst out laughing on the floor, while Mr. Dursley pulled his family into the next room, glaring at the three.

"Shouldn'ta lost me temper," He said when Lara recovered, "but it didn't work any way. Meant ter turn him into a pig, but I suppose he was so much like a pig anyway there wasn't much left ter do."

Again, Lara burst out laughing, rolling on the floor. After five minutes, she got up, "Sorry."

"I'm- er- not supposed ter do magic, strictly speakin'. I was allowed ter do a bit ter follow yeh an' get yeh letters to yeh an' stuff- one o' the reasons I was so keen ter take on the job-"

"Why aren't you allowed to use magic? Safety precautions?" Lara asked.

"Oh, well- I was at Hogwarts meself but I-uh- got expelled, ter tell yeh te truth. In me third year, they snapped me wand in half an' everything. But Dumbledore let me stay on as gamekeeper. Great man, Dumbledore."

Curiosity coursed through Lara's veins, "Why were you expelled?" She said as the same time as Harry.

"It's gettin' late and we've got lots ter do tomorrow," Hagrid said quickly. Lara knew he was hiding something, he changed the subject. "Gotta get up ter town, get all yer books an' that."

He took off his coat and threw to them. Lara caught, thinking it would be really heavy. It seemed lighter than she had thought. "You can kip under that," He said, "Don' mind if it wiggles a bit, I think I still got a couple o' dormice in one o' the pockets."

Lara tossed the coat to Harry, who got on the ground and covered up. Hagrid had lied down on the couch. She walked around the creaky shack for a bit, then settled down next to the fire. She was overjoyed that something was actually happening to them. She had a father that cares! But she still wanted to know more on why he had left her with the Dursleys. She sighed, that's another question for another day.

* * *

A/N: Alright, there were some concerns on technology. In the book, it says Dudley has a computer. In the book! And as for the reason Lara is with the Dursley, well, reread this chapter again. And grammar, heck I forgot what grammar is. Isn't spelling? And whoever pointed out that there was an A/N in the text that shouldn't be there, thank you. I now know not to do that. Plus, I got this idea while I was sleeping, I thought to have Lara be like Harry so Voldemort can target her more because she's Severus's child. Review are always nice and advice!


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